The Anatomy of an Android OS Update, by HTC

Ever wonder why Android upgrades are...shall we say, spotty? In an attempt to "bring transparency" to the upgrade process, HTC has published an excellent infographic detailing the many steps every update must go through.

Very few Android devices are capable of upgrading to whatever the current version of Android is at any given moment, and the result is massive fragmentation throughout the platform. That could be what prompted HTC to commission JESS3 to make this infographic. From the company's website:

HTC is focused on providing timely software updates for both HTC Sense innovation and major Google Android releases. In an effort to bring transparency to this process, we will be marking the steps of preparation and our progress, by device and carrier.

There are several stages to the adaptation of a Google Android release.

The image below is the full infographic, and it's a large image (377K), but if you want to see it in its original, even larger size, you can see it at HTC's website.